Day 168 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
………
A security guard for a San Raphael shopping mall faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and child abuse for allegedly using his patrol vehicle as a weapon.
The 66-year old guard is accused of running over a kid riding a bicycle after he became angry when a group of children took down the caution tape blocking off part of a two-story parking garage.
He drove away after the crash, but returned later to turn himself in.
The young victim was hospitalized with injuries that were described as non-life threatening.
But you have to wonder what the charges would have been if he had used a gun instead of a motor vehicle.
The only difference is the size of the weapon.
………
This is who we share the road with.
At least six people were injured when a driver doing burnouts “to get attention” lost control and plowed into a crowd of people standing on an Inglewood sidewalk protesting ICE immigration raids.
KTLA-5 reports the victims included 14 and 16 year old kids.
Fortunately — and surprisingly — the victims’ injuries were not believed to be serious.
………
A crowdfunding campaign is raising funds for a memorial for Marvin Cortez, the 37-year old man killed by a driver while riding his bike on Stunt Road in Calabasas on Saturday.
The story of his death is also beginning to change, as witnesses claim the driver was out of control, and rumble strips in the center of the roadway make it unlikely that Cortez would have been riding on the wrong side of the road, as initial reports claimed.
………
South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel will host a five-mile open streets event from 3 pm to 8 pm this Sunday.
Which means you could double up, and do the Historic South Central meets Watts CicLAvia and the Active Streets: Mission at Twilight the same day.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Denver, Colorado spent $200,000 to make a downtown street more dangerous, removing flex posts from a protected bike lane because people complained about visual clutter, choosing prettier slight lines over human lives.
………
Local
The Santa Monica city council approved a pilot program allowing bicyclists to ride in select bus lanes in the city.
State
The YMCA in San Diego’s Mission Valley opened its own $300,000 skate and bike park, creating what could become a training facility for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
A Santa Ana bike thief was busted on a local bike trail after police located him thanks to an AirTag hidden on the bike.
The University of California’s Berkeley Library marks the retirement of a librarian who rode the San Francisco to LA AIDS/LifeCycle Ride six times, stating that librarianship and bicycling are both “powered by compassion, care, and a sense of community.” I would have said the latter was powered by strong legs and a good crank, but what the hell do I know?
A British woman rode her bike from San Francisco to Los Angeles — or most of the way, anyway — in search of “real American cuisine,” from Berkeley’s Chez Panisse to The Apple Pan on Pico Blvd in LA, and on to the original McDonalds in Downey.
National
Hit-and-run alerts help, but they’re not perfect. Authorities in Colorado sounded the alarm after a man was found dead next to his bicycle, urging any witnesses to the hit-and-run to come forward, but the coroner later determined there were no traumatic injuries that could have led to his death, and the cause of death remains undetermined.
Even tiny Basalt, Colorado gets it, issuing ebike rebates for the second year in a row to get residents out of their cars.
Police in Pittsburgh PA are looking for a pair of hit-and-run drivers who critically injured a man riding a bicycle in what appeared to be a street race; the drivers were caught on a security cam traveling side-by-side at a high rate of speed before slamming into the victim.
Vermont will now allow bike riders to cross a street on the pedestrian signal, legalizing something many riders already do — although the law won’t take effect for another year.
International
A London council is accused of installing “prohibitive, discriminatory” barriers on a steep ramp at the exit of a park in order to stop possibly nonexistent speeding bicyclists, forcing people with disabilities and families in cargo bikes onto a busy road with no bike lane, while ignoring a January compromise agreement.
A motor vehicle once again became a weapon of mass destruction when the 87-year old driver of a motorhome slammed into a group of four Swiss bicyclists in Cher, France, killing two people in their 60s and critically injuring a third. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive — especially a vehicle that can weigh seven tons or more.
Malaysian roads are under increased scrutiny after a man riding a bike was killed due to cracked pavement, just a week after 15 students were killed in a bus crash, as statistics show one person is killed every two hours in the country due to traffic violence.
Competitive Cycling
USA Cycling offers an insiders guide to mountain biking in Bentonville, Arkansas, revealing what they claim makes it the perfect training ground for the USA Cycling National Mountain Bike Team.
Aussie sprinter Michael Matthews was forced to drop out of next month’s Tour de France when doctors diagnosed him with a pulmonary embolism.
You might not win Wisconsin’s Tour of America’s Dairyland, but your mutt could be selected as the Dog of the Day.
Finally…
Your next ebike could be a car, sort of. Your next e-cargo bike could come with a detachable rickshaw-style rear seat for your family, or maybe the in-laws.
And that feeling when a century ride to select the ultimate road bike ends up in the ER.
………
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
